Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this, another favorite for the year for sure! The author covers all kinds of pests, including rats, snakes, mice, pigeons, elephants (yes!), cats (yes again!), coyotes, sparrows, deer, and bears, although she mentions various others throughout (cane toads, raccoons, rabbits, etc.). I have way too many highlights in this book to count, and learned tons about each of the animals she mentioned as well as the history of their habitats and domestication.

She covers the history of how these animals came to be considered as pests, which often enough simply meant that at one point humans had a use for them, whereas now we don't, but the animals have remained in our spaces. The definition of a pest itself is varied and fuzzy, and she is great at showing how the context is what makes the pest.

One thing I also really loved was her dedication to non-Western and non-global North perspectives in her research, and she interviewed many indigenous communities about their historical relationships with the land and animals. The complexity of humanity's relationship with the natural world they live in was really well documented in this book, and Brookshire also celebrates the animals for their ability to thrive in such a changed and urban landscape.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to any animal lover, or even anyone curious about the "pests" that seem to be overrunning their city. It definitely made me more aware of the everyday wildlife I encounter while living in a big city.

This was a fascinating look at the various animals we as humans have assigned to be pests over our history. From pigeons to cats to deer, it shows that pestdom is truly in the eyes of the beholder.

I think the highest compliment that I can give this author is that her writing reminded me very strongly of Mary Roach. It’s very personable and amusing. It felt like I was sitting down with a friend who had a long rant saved up.

The depth of research that was put into this was astonishing. She manages to weave together personal anecdotes, cultural history, and scientific understanding with equal consideration and importance.

This was a genuine delight to read, and I can’t wait to see what Brookshire does next!

My thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for this arc.

What a fantastic and well-researched discussion of the critters we humans love to hate even though we actually simply don't understand them as well as they deserve.

Pests. The word brings up many associations. This book deals with pests that bother humans and that we have named pests for various reasons. Whether it’s mice getting into our food stores, or elephants trampling our crops, we call various animals pests and try to control them.

In this book, author Bethany Brookshire introduces us to these species one by one. Their roles are explained and how they come into conflict with humans is detailed. Solutions that have been tried are also introduced. Humans have been dealing with animals that we call pests since time immemorial.

Brookshire’s writing style condenses scientific information into an easy-to-understand format so that the information is accessible to anyone, even non-scientists. The stories are told in ways that relate to us all as humans. We can totally understand how farmers need to protect their crops from destructive creatures. We can sympathize with those in that situation. It brings the story of pests to a wide audience.

I really enjoyed the book. I learned about some interesting creatures that are considered pests. And even some I didn’t know where such a large problem. It was an informative and interesting read. The book held my interest throughout and presented a lot of great information.

Our human responses to pests often bring about the destruction of those species. So, there are some disturbing parts to the reading that may upset some readers.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
This book covers deals with pests, specifically vertebrates. The book discusses the definition of a pest and how certain animals become classified as a pest. Each chapter covers 1-2 creatures that are commonly considered a pest. One thing the author points out is that many animals are considered pests situationally, such as deer and cats. The animals that are discussed are the commonly considered ones like rats, pigeons, and snakes, and the more uncommon ones like elephants, cats, and sparrows.
I think that this was an interesting book. It pointed out that it is due to humans that these animals are placed in the position of pests, some due to the expansion of humans and others due to domestication efforts of humans. The book is in-depth in the information about each animal and how it has developed over time.
I would suggest this book to anyone who is interested in natural science or the history of the interactions between animals and humans.

From cats, rats, mice coyotes and even python snakes are the subject of this book. Pest by Bethany Brookshire Will make you look at a lot of animals thought to be nuisances differently… Not all good mouse. From the poor coyote who was hit by a car and killed who was found to be pregnant to the cats that overrun the authors neighborhood and the ones she took in and made household pets. It’s amazing to me how similar the word pets and pest far it’s just two letters inverted and depending on the placement of those letters makes a huge difference in how we look at the mammal in question or the reptile or the insect. I found this book to be so interesting and although I could’ve done without the chapter on python snakes because yes I am one of those people who fear any kind of snakes even grass snakes I cannot deal with I still read it and enjoyed it and have so much respect for those women who won the python challenge every year all I can say is there better women than me because I couldn’t do it. miss Brookshire even when along for the ride and that is way more than I would’ve done. It was so interesting to hear about the rat Temple the python challenge in much much more in this interesting book about pests or pets. No matter how you look at them you will definitely enjoy this book I highly recommend it if you love hearing about strange pets or common pest you love this book I certainly did. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Bethany Brookshire is an American science journalist whose writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post and many other publications. Brookshire holds degrees in philosophy, biology, physiology and pharmacology. She is also the host and a producer of the podcast Science for People All this is to say, that Brookshire has extensive knowledge of the sciences and experience presenting scientific ideas, understandings and processes to a more general audience. For the book Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains this experience is very evident in a narrative that blends summaries of extensive research with first hand accounts, interviews and travel writing.

Pests is about the human perspective on the world around us. To be a pest, is to be defined or classed as a something that is frustrating or troublesome. Brookshire uses this concept as a way to explore several different human animal relationships. Often beginning from firsthand experience, interviews or infamous events; Brookshire provides summary histories for each of the main featured animals, especially emphasizing when and how they came be termed pests. Rats, snakes, mice, pigeons, elephants, cats, coyotes, sparrows, deer and bears each have their own chapters.

And there is a lot of death and blood in this narrative, which shouldn't be a surprise. How do people often respond to pests? By seeking their destruction. Brookshire shares many of the different methods to try to control populations of these animals which are often to kill them, but she also discusses the neutering, drugging or changes to the physical environment. And sure, our treatment of them are often biased by appearance or our relation to them. Cats, elephants and bears? All animals that are more appealing than rats, snakes or mice. Brookshire is clear in her own biases (she's a cat person!) but makes space for other opinions and perspectives.

This is not a book for the animal lovers in your circle, but it should appeal to those exploring human-animal ecosystems or for fans of Mary Roach's last book Fuzz: When Animals Break the Law.

Pests is a deep dive into the world of the creatures that humanity has grown to hate throughout our existence: rats, mice, bugs, snakes, etc. Whether it's for logical reasons or not, these animals have raised our ire for centuries, and as a result, become the target of some of our most targeted cruelties. Bethany Brookshire takes a look at why and how this has happened and offers us a different perspective on these creatures to hopefully allow us to see the worth they have despite our prejudices.

Pros:
- Informative and wide-ranging subject matter.
- Author uses an engaging tone throughout, which helps offset some of the deeper concepts.

Cons:
- A bit technical and analytical for the general reader.
- It's not fun to read at times, through no fault of the author, but rather because of the things we do to "pests" we consider beneath us.

Three stars. Our treatment of animals we consider pests is upsetting to read about in detail, but this is an interesting look into the background of these creatures and why they've gotten the reputations that they currently hold in our eyes.

FFO: spiders, snakes, rats, mice, and loving the unpopular.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Ecco and Netgalley*

Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for the ARC of this!

This was so engaging and interesting, I loved the overall tone and message. I just read Beware the Burmese Python with my daughter, by coincidence, before picking this up and was excited to delve more deeply into the topic. It was all very easy to follow, even without a lot of prior knowledge, and it didn’t stray into too dry.

Just as the title suggests, this book is a comprehensive history of pests, from the rat in the great plague to cats decimating wild birds in New Zealand. This book is wonderful for those wondering how some mammals and insects became designated as pests and the origin story behind it. I highly recommend.

The concept of a pest is completely artificial and arbitrary. I have been interested in it, and in sources of human-animal conflicts for quite some time, but I think that few people ever think about it. Apparently Bethany Brookshire is one of them - and wrote a great book about it.

It is a fine example of popular science, very informative and deeply researched but at the same time engaging and funny. Showing how irrational our attitudes towards animals are, she examines not only obvious pest cases such as rodents or pigeons, but also elephants, sparrows or even horses. And she brings many stories from outside the US, proving that it is an issue universal for humans all over the world.

If you liked this book and want to dive deeper into the topic of human-animal conflict , I can recommend “Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind” by my favorite author, David Quammen.

Thanks to the publisher, Ecco, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This was an interesting read, but I don't think this book will appeal to everyone. Bethany Brookshire is a very analytical writer. She's got a deep and scientific mind. I must admit, a lot of the things she talks about in this book went over my head. But if you love science and annoying little critters (hence the title), then I think you will enjoy this. Brookshire goes on a scientific study about how humans compare other humans as pests. She dives deep into that discussion by examining all the different sorts to that assessment (rodents, elephants, etc). Learning about animal kingdoms and the origin of each animal was very eye-opening. Even though I was overwhelmed by a lot of the information I was being told, this was still a solid read.

Thank you, Netgalley and Ecco for the digital ARC.

This was definitely an interesting book and one I don’t often read so I really enjoyed reading something different!